USC basketball hosts Cal

USC's basketball team will look for its first three-game winning streak of the season when the Trojans host Cal tonight at Galen Center at 8 p.m.

The Trojans won only one Pac-12 Conference game last season, but got off to a 1-0 start with a 71-69 victory over Stanford on Thursday night, a game in which the Trojans rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit.

Byron Wesley is unofficially listed as a starter for tonight's game. Wesley, a sophomore who has started every game of his USC career thus far, suffered an undisclosed injury in the second half Thursday and did not finish the game.

Cal is coming off a loss to UCLA on Thursday, but the Bears feature the Pac-12's leading scorer, Allen Crabbe, who averages 20.9 points per game. The Bears started the season 6-0 but have lost five of their last seven games.

USC's guards played solid defense against Stanford in the second half, and will need to be even better against Cal's backcourt duo of Crabbe and Justin Cobbs (16.1 points per game).

The Trojans will also look to maintain the same type of offensive balance they showed in the second half against Stanford, something that has been rare for the Trojans this season. Dewayne Dedmon got going in the second half, with 11 points before he fouled out late, and Jio Fontan scored a team-high 15 points. When USC's big men get touches in an inside-outside game, it helps the entire offense.

Cal won both games against USC last season. The Trojans lost by four points at home and by 26 points on the road.

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